Not everyone is as
willing as the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to jump to the
conclusion that the October 9-10, 2005 fish kill in the Altamaha Canal and
Arco pond was from natural causes.

Fish floated everywhere you looked on the Arco pond and vultures circled
overhead. Crabs were seen leaving the water to escape the septic
conditions.
Photo: Daniel Parshley, GEC

Sampling confirmed what
our nose and eyes were telling us - septic sewage had been released into the
pond and canal. This was not the first time the GEC had been called to this
spot by a memberís call. In June 2003 we had seen the same gray water
flowing down the Altamaha Canal, only this time hundreds of dead fish were
floating on the surface and vultures hovered overhead.

In June 2003, the GEC
took samples of the gray septic water for bacterial analysis, which
confirmed what our noses were telling us - there was fecal coliform and
enterroccocus bacterial contamination. We could watch the fish gulping
for air but at that time did not have the instruments to measure levels of
dissolved oxygen.

Shortly after the
October 2005 fish kill was reported by a GEC member and a quick check of the
situation made, assistance was requested from Altamaha Riverkeeper, James
Holland. James assisted in responding to the event, taking water samples,
and measuring dissolved oxygen in the water. The dissolved oxygen meter
confirmed what we suspected, there were extremely low levels of oxygen in
the water, which is not unusual when a septic situation is encountered.
Sample results for bacterial contamination would take a few days to receive.

When results were
received, the levels were so high that they were questioned and checked for
accuracy. Fecal coliform was indicated at 500,000 per 100 milliliters water
(maximum allowable is 200), and enterroccocus was indicated at 3,800 per 100
milliliters water (maximum allowable is 104). Levels of bacteria like
these are not a natural occurrence, they are a sewage spill, and a very
large one.

The question of the
fish kill and sewage spill being related is being debated by the Georgia
Environmental Protection Division. Regardless, the situation is a public
health threat and a potential economic threat to our community. At a time
when several regulating agencies are searching far and wide for the cause of
persistent beach water contamination, large sewage releases like the one
into the Altamaha Canal should be a concern to every business that depends
on our beaches, tourism, and water based recreation. It does not take but a
few sewage releases like the one documented by the GEC and Altamaha
Riverkeeper to render our rivers, sounds, and beaches unusable.

Sewage spills to the
Altamaha Canal are an ongoing problem that has not been resolved. Efforts
continue to find the source of the sewage but are being hampered by tidal
fluctuations and marshy terrain. Hopefully we will be able to report the
source of the problem to you in the near future. Meanwhile, every person
who

The Arco pond (upper right) and Koch Cellulose (left side) empty into the
Altamaha Canal (center). The marsh between the Arco pond and Koch Cellulose
was the apparent source of the sewage release.
Photo: James Holland, Altamaha Riverkeeper

depends on tourism, our water resources, or just enjoys taking their family
to the beach should demand a better answer from the Georgia Environmental
Protection Division regarding the ongoing problem of sewage spills to the
Altamaha Canal. Claiming natural causes as the cause of a sewage spill just
doesnít pass the laugh test.